


Valentine's Day

by lilcogs



Category: Everlark - Fandom, The Hunger Games
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-08 22:42:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4323591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilcogs/pseuds/lilcogs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peeta saves Katniss from a drunk in a bar and things go from there. </p>
<p>Just a lil' something I wrote for this most recent Valentine's Day. Enjoy. :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Valentine's Day

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this pretty early on in my fanfiction career, so try not to judge too harshly.  
> Find me on Tumblr at everlark-af.

The words to Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" pour from the stereo of Johanna's beat-up old Chevy. I stare glumly out at the scenery that flashes by the window and sigh.

_"But baby now!"_ Johanna and Annie scream-sing along with Ed. I cringe at their crude attempt at vocalization.

Johanna places a hand on my shoulder and continues to aggravate me. I know she senses it, which is why she doesn't stop.

"Oh, come _on_ , Kat!" she begs. "It'll be fun, I promise!"

I scoff and swat her arm away. I'm in no mood for the nagging I've been subjected to all night.

"I'll believe it when I see it, Jo," I respond.

When we pull into the parking lot, Johanna slows the car to a stop to accommodate the valet that approaches our car. The _cute_ valet, I might add.

"Ohmygod," I whisper, the low volume quite unnecessary. Johanna hasn't even lowered the window yet. "Annie, he's totally checking you out."

With this I capture Annie's attention immediately and she snaps up from the back seat to size the guy up and fix her hair.

Johanna rolls down the window. "Good evening, officer," she muses, and the man gives her a ridiculously perfect smile.

"Good evening, ladies," he replies, actually leaning _into the car_ just to get a better look at Annie."I'm Finnick. If you'll just shut off the car and hand me your keys, I can take care of it for you." His grin widens when his gaze locks with Annie's. Annie returns it, batting her eyelashes and making no attempt to hide her blatant flirting.

"Well _hellooo_ , Finnick," Johanna drawls, sizing the guy up but respecting Annie's infatuation with him. "So..." she continues after a pause. "Can we get this show on the road? I want to get my friend Katniss here laid."

I gasp and slap Johanna hard across the shoulder, my face burning white-hot.

"Johanna!" Annie scolds from the back. That's so like her, always coming to someone's rescue. Johanna just smirks and turns back to the now-also-smirking valet. She hands him some cash and her keys, and we all step out of the car. Johanna and I turn to walk into the building until we realize Annie is no longer with us.

Behind us Finnick has held Annie back and they're talking, a permanent smile playing across both of their features. When they're done, Annie scampers back over to us, practically bursting with giggling joy.

Johanna and I give her a pair of extremely inquisitive looks, neither of us having to say a word to get our message across.

"He said that when his shift is over in thirty minutes he wants to hang with us at the bar," Annie squeaks.

All three of us exchange excited squeals, but inwardly I'm groaning. Well, at least one of us will have a good time tonight. ~

**X-X-X-X**

"Vodka tonic, please," I shout to the bartender over the pulsating music, really needing this drink.

Don't get me wrong, I love Johanna, but taking me to this stupid Valentine's Day party was the worst thing she could have done to me.

" _But Katniss, it'll be sooo much fun!_ "

Yeah, right. I need this party like I need a stick up my ass.

It's not the party itself that bothers me. Its location is beautiful, actually- right under the glittering city lights of LA. But come on, people. It's 2015. I should be in a relationship by now. Instead, I spend this Valentine's Day devastatingly lonely.

Again.

I glance back over to where Johanna, Finnick, and a love-struck Annie sit, chatting and laughing. My pearl necklace twirls absentmindedly in my fingers, its dark, shiny surface cool against my angry-red and sweating skin. Why is this place so damn hot?

Ten minutes later and I'm still waiting on my drink. This bar's _really_ crowded.

Finally the bartender slides my glass over to me. I smile my thanks and hand him some cash. No use waiting for him again to scan my card.

Suddenly I gasp in surprise. A pair of beefy hands have found purchase on my ass. I swat them away and whirl around, disgusted.

A clearly-intoxicated idiot gives me a lopsided grin.

"How's it hanging, cupcake?" he slurs, swaying slightly.

"Fuck off," I respond in annoyance. Wow. My prospects at getting a man aren't looking too good right now.

He looks shocked for a moment, but regains his confident, and somewhat pervy, attitude.

"Hey, now. Let's not be that way." He slings an arm over my shoulder.

I slide out of his grasp, grabbing my drink and turning to go, but he stops me with a hand on my arm.

"I _said_ ," he asserts, now becoming slightly ominous, "let's not be that way."

This won't end well. I know that for a fact. I open my mouth to fire back a retort, but it turns out not to be necessary. The guy's clammy fingers are detached from my arm by another, stronger, hand.

The first thing I notice about my savior is that he has a prosthetic leg. My would-be stalker swallows hard and looks up. So do I. My eyes travel up a strong, lean body, with a black t-shirt stretched over a pair of broad shoulders. I take in his chest, which leads to a man so startlingly beautiful that I do a double-take.

The man stares down the creep before me. "Hey. Why don't you leave her alone, okay?"

By now I've forgotten the drink in my hand, its ice melting.

The embarrassingly-drunk imbecile gulps again. "O-Okay," he stutters, sobering up a little. He grabs his half-downed drink and scurries away.

I smile up at the man who just saved my night, but it falls off my face as I am met with, once again, this ludicrously handsome face.

I shake myself out of my stupor and force a polite smile back onto my lips.

"Thank you," I finally say. "Thank you so much."

He shoots me a pearly smile. _Wow_.

"Sure," he responds. "Guys like that have no balls, anyway. I would never be dumb enough to get involved in some bar fight- but _he_ doesn't have to know that."

The lights above the bar, which seemed so appropriate just a minute ago, are now blindingly bright. So much so that I think I even squint. I find myself struggling to speak. Or _breathe_ , for that matter. So I just grin at him. God, I'm such an idiot.

He sits down on the stoil beside me. _Oh my God, he's sitting down!_ The sight of his hand running through his blond curls sends my heart fluttering. I don't even know _why_.

I stutter for a moment before finally gathering my thoughts. "I, uh- Do you want to join me for a drink?" I ask him, my finger tracing patterns on the glazed wooden bar behind me.

I expect him to scoff, to leave, to do _anything_ but say yes. Instead, he offers another gleaming white smile and replies with, "Sure. Yeah, I'd like that."

He must see me gawking at his abnormal leg-despite my efforts not to do just that-because he feels the need to explain himself. "I was making some stuff for the bakery that I own-" _Oh my God he owns a bakery, that's so adorable_ "-and I dropped a scalding-hot pan on my leg. Burned it real bad. Doctors had to amputate it because it was too mangled to try to save. Honestly, I think they just felt bad that it was so ugly, so they chopped it off." He chuckles at this, but stops when he sees my concerned expression.

"Don't feel bad for me," he says, waving me off. "I get around just fine on this thing." He pats the artificial leg like it's an old friend and continues talking.

T-Shirt and I (I'm ashamed to say I still don't know his name) spend the rest of the night talking and laughing, much to my friends' glee. I can't keep from noticing his muscular build, or the way he listens to me, wholly, like no one I've ever met before. Or how, quite frequently actually, I catch his eyes flickering to the abrupt hem of my dress, his eyes traveling up my body. He's... spectacular.

Before I realize it, the club has thinned out, leaving only several clusters of stragglers. How long has it been? Thirty minutes?

He checks his watch and widens his eyes. "Wow," he marvels. "It's almost midnight."

Two _hours?_ That's how long I've been here? I seriously need to get a watch.

Suddenly Johanna stumbles towards me and comes to a stop, using my arm as leverage. "Jesus, I've been looking all over for you."

"Johanna, there's literally twenty people left in this bar," I reply, rolling my eyes at her very obvious drunkenness. "Oh!" I add, feeling rude, "This is my best friend, Johanna. Johanna, this is..."

The guy jumps in at this. "Peeta. Peeta Mellark."

Johanna's eyes roam over him, sizing him up. I interject. "Okay, Johanna, I think it's time for me to drive you home." I start to lower myself from the barstool, but her hand waves around to stop me.

"Finnick is our destined driver," she slurs and gestures towards the man across the room. I shake my head and chuckle at her mistake.

It takes me a moment to realize that Johanna, even in her very inebriated state, is trying to strand me here with this guy so we can hit it off.

I sigh. "Johanna, how am I supposed to get home? You know I hate public transp"

Peeta cuts me off, almost eagerly. "I can take you home."

Johanna grins. "Well, okay then. It's been fun, sorry we couldn't stay longer but we have to be going, blah, blah, blah... ANNIE! FINNICK! LET'S GO!" She rushes (well, more like wobbles) around to give us the most privacy possible. Typical Jo.

Peeta turns to me and offers his arm. "Shall we?" he jokes. I laugh and loop my arm through his.

**X-X-X-X**

"Well, looks like this is your stop," Peeta jokes. I smile.

"Thanks for tonight. For everything. I really appreciate it," I tell him, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

His eyes crinkle in just the right way when the corners of his lips turn up tenderly. _Those lips..._

I start to pull on the car door handle, panicked by my own lustful thoughts, when his gentle fingers land on my leg. It sends shivers up my spine. I turn towards him, silently asking him _what the fuck_ is going on.

"I never got your name," he says quietly.

"Katniss Everdeen." It's followed by silence.

Finally he breaks it. "Well, _Katniss_ ," he says, trying out the name. "Um... Can I kiss you?"

His question catches me off guard. So much so, in fact, that it must clearly show on my face, because he winces.

"I'm sorry," he interjects. "That was too sudden. I shouldn't have asked it. It's just that-"

I silence him with my lips, my hands caressing his face. This, I realize, is what I've wanted all night. To feel him against me. To run my fingers through his golden locks of hair.

Finally, I pull away, breathless. "Yes, Peeta," I say to him. "Yes, you can kiss me."

He flashes that grin and his mouth is back on mine in an instant.

_What the hell,_ I think. _It_ is _Valentine's Day, after all._


End file.
